Donald Trump has refused to use force to acquire Greenland or take control of the Panama Canal, as he has vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America”.
In a free press conference less than two weeks before taking office, the US president-elect threatened to use his country's economic and military power against traditional allies to advance national security and territorial expansion.
Asked whether he would rule out the use of military force or economic coercion to obtain Greenland or control the Panama Canal, he said: “No, I can't guarantee you in either of these two. But I can say this, we need economic security. . . We want Greenland for national security reasons. “
At a press conference Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump the promise of “Denmark's tribute at the highest level” unless the country gave up control of Greenland, which it wanted to buy during his first term of office.
Earlier on Tuesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Greenland, which is an independent part of the Danish kingdom, “not for sale” but he insisted that he is willing to work with Washington in the Arctic.
Responding to Trump's recent comments, he added that the US was Denmark's “most important and closest friend” and that he had no “idea to believe that we would receive” military or economic coercion to control Greenland.
Trump since 2019 sought to control the world's largest island, home to only 56,000 people but in the heart of the vital Arctic region.
He also argued in his press conference that the US needs control of the Panama Canal, which the country built more than 100 years ago, because of the channel's strategic role.
“The Panama Canal is important to our country,” he said. “It is driven by China . . . And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we didn't give it to China. “
In a broad departure from the traditional coalition, Trump said that US involvement in Canada “would be a thing”, but it would happen “economically” rather than militarily.
“You drop that line, and you look at what it looks like, and it's going to be a lot better for national security. Don't forget, we're protecting Canada,” he said.
Citing the US's failure in both countries and the influx of migrants across the US's southern border, Trump said he was ready to hit Canada and Mexico with higher tariffs. “We are going to impose very heavy tariffs on Mexico and Canada. . . after that we want to get along with everyone,” he said.
“We will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” he added. “What a beautiful name. And it's worth it. “
Trump called Mexico “a very dangerous place” that “allowed millions of people to come into our country” and that was “mainly run by (drug) companies”.
Mexico has been experiencing an unprecedented period of homicides since 2009 with organized crime groups expanding their access to drugs and human trafficking through theft and robbery.
When Trump proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada shortly after his election in November, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum first announced retaliatory measures.
While the two leaders have since had a pleasant conversation, Sheinbaum is now preparing for an onslaught of mass deportations, trade barriers and pressure for greater US involvement in dealing with cartels.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded on social media that both countries benefit from being a great trade and security partner. “There's not a snowball's chance in hell that Canada will be part of the United States,” he said posted in X.
Additional reporting by Richard Milne and Ilya Gridneff